Dragonstar
by Cougarcreed
Summary: A boy looses his mom to a drunk driver, but after a terible jouney finds a new family.


This is the very first Fan fiction I ever wrote, but I never finished it, or posted it… ya like that has never happened hu? Anyway I will be finishing it now.

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Original Disclaimer:

They say that there is a first time for every thing, well here is my first Fan-Fic. I'm typing this with a sprained right hand, because I fell on the ICE. A souvenir from the ice storm of 98' that we had here in Quebec.

Inspired by Gargoyles who are owned by Disney. I don't own anyone (Slavery is illegal) but Dragon Star/Zaviea (Za-Vie-A) Valentine is my creation, Please don't use him with out my permission. Heck lets face it if you know them they aren't mine, if you don't know them they are mine. 

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Disclaimer now:

The X-Men belong to Marvel, yes I am using them without any permission (If they gave me a job I'd be happy to write and plot for them) but I am not making any money from this, the only thing I'm getting is my mother coming into the den every ten minutes to nag me about being on my computer all the time, and the satisfaction of reading a story that is going where I want it to. The Gargoyles are history, but are still owned by Disney and I'm only using their 'turning to stone' and looks concepts in this story.

PG - Very mildly implied incest, and hinted at adult relations. Zaviea Valentine/Dragon Star is all mine please don't use him or his mother, Kelly Valentine the colour changing mutant, without my permission. Thank you.

**Dragon Star**

By DelCreed 

(griffincreed@hotmail.com ) 

( www.members.tripod.com/griffincreed )

Westchester, New York;

It was Dark under the bridge. In the deepest shadows a spark flared to reveal the shape of a tall young man, who had just been able to build a small fire in an old mettle oil barrel. Even if he was only Fifteen Zaviea Valentine already stood tall at six foot two. He had bright red hair and sad emerald green eyes. The small flickering fire did little to warm him up; he would have gone home, except there was no 'Home' to go to. Just the apartment where his aunt Olivia lived and just thinking about her made Zaviea feel even colder. It was hard for him to believe that only 3 months had passed since his Mom's death, to him it felt more like three years. He'd been happy at home with his mother in Silver Springs Florida, and doing so well in school that he was starting collage next fall, three years ahead of time. Zaviea had never imagined that a drunk driver would shatter his world and he'd be sitting under a bridge in Westchester, resting for just a couple hours before he would continued on his way to the cabin that his aunt didn't know existed.

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3 Months earlier in Silver Springs Florida:

Was it some kind of cosmic joke that makes time slowdown when you are sitting in math class? 

'Couldn't something happen to end this torture. Why do the two last weeks of school have to be so long?' Zaviea thought to himself. Then there was a knock on the class door that shook everyone out of the stupors that the teacher's droning monotone had put them in. All eyes swung to the opening door. The principal, a short man with a bad comb-over, stepped into the room and walked over to the teacher and spoke to him in a low whisper for a moment. Zaviea saw the teacher's eyes go wide for a second before he and the principal turned to face the class, then the teacher pointed at Zaviea. 'Ho no, he couldn't know I saran-wrapped the toilets in the bathroom last period already. Could he?' The principal stopped next to his desk and said quietly.

"Zaviea Valentine, collect your things and come with me please." The whole class began to rumble. Could it be that Zaviea, the prince of tricks, had finally been found-out and caught. Acting as if he left class this way every day Zaviea scooped up his textbook, slid it back into his book bag and followed the short man out the door. The principal didn't talk to him till they reached his office. "Please take a seat." Zaviea took one of the two chairs that sat in front of the big desk "There is a police officer here to speak to you young man." Zaviea knew better then to admit to anything till he'd been clearly accused of something, so he waited quietly has the officer came into the room.

"I have some bad news for you Son-" The policeman said looking down at the tall boy, He always hated this part of being a cop. "There has been an accident. Son your Mother was hit by a drunk driver and-" Zaviea cut him off.

"Is she okay? Where is she? Who gets drunk in the afternoon?" The officer looked at the boy's pale face and said slowly.

"Some business executive had a **power** lunch and drove his car head-on into your Mother's, She was taken to the county hospital, I was with her in the ambulance. She was calling for you, I asked her where I could find you, and she said here."

"Fine you've found me lets go to the hospital n…" the officer put his hand on Zaviea's shoulder and forced him gently to sit back down.

"I'm sorry Son, but she didn't make it, she passed away on the operating table." Zaviea looked at the officer and shook his head.

"No this isn't happening, you are lying. My Mom is in her studio filling out an order of Stain-glass. You heard wrong!" Zaviea was growling low in his through. He quickly grabbed the phone and dialled his Mother's studio, the phone rang five times and the message started playing. 'I'm sorry I had to step out, if you…' Zaviea hung up the phone slowly, his head was swimming, he stood up and the room spun. The police officer caught him has he stumbled forward.

"I'm Sorry Son-" The officer said but Zaviea snapped at him.

"Don't call me that. I'm not you're 'Son'" 

"All right Mr. Valentine, I need you to come with me now. Do you need anything from your locker?" Zaviea shook his head no, has a single tear fell to the floor. With the officer's help he managed to walk slowly to the patrol car. The principal watched them drive off from his office window for a moment. Then he turned back to his desk, but something shimmering in the sunlight on the floor caught his eye. Bending-over to pick it up he found that it was a small, clear quartz crystal, but the strange thing about it was that it was in the shape of a perfect teardrop. The principal cast a quick glance back out the window, and then shook his head at his silly thought, as he put the small crystal in his shirt pocket. The Officer drove him to the police station to identify his mother's belongings, she was too badly injured for him to see her, and the officer had decided that a kid's last memories of his Mom should be of her whole and unbroken. 

**************

Social services, Lawyers, the interment and the reading of the will all blurred and blended in with the constant pain in his heart. A week after the interment Zaviea was sitting in Mr. Vincent's office, Mr. Vincent was his Mother's Lawyer and the man was telling him.

"This is a highly unusual will, in it your Mother stipulates that you are to have instant access to your trust-found and that I am to follow all your decisions on what should be done with your inheritance and the properties." Zaviea didn't bother telling the Lawyer that from the age of nine he'd been the one balancing the household budget, paying bills and even dabbling, successfully in the stock market. His Mom had been a wonderful artist but had always told him, 'Numbers hate me.'

"Sell the house-" Zaviea said calmly. "I'll remove everything I want to keep and put it into storage. Sell the Studio too, then arrange to have all the things that will be left in the house and studio auctioned off. I'll be keeping the cabin up in Westchester." He and his Mother had loved that cabin; it was in a remote wooded area of the county and when they'd gone up north to visit his Grandparents they'd always stayed there. "Put all the proceeds from the sails into the trust. The stock portfolios I'll handle myself." The Lawyer looked at the boy with admiration.

"Yes if that is what you want, I must say those are some very good choices. Now there is the question of who will be your legal guardian." Zaviea looked at him, he hadn't thought of that. "Your mother appointed your grandparents has your guardians but this will was made three years ago, and was never changed after they'd passed-away. So this leaves your Father or your Aunt, Mrs. Olivia Valentine-Smith, as candidates."

"My father died when I was four, and Mom never liked Aunt Olivia. Isn't there somewhere else I could go?"

"Well then your aunt is your only living relative and has instant guardianship of you." Zaviea thought back on what he knew about his aunt. He'd last seen her two years ago at his Grandmother's interment, and she had stayed only long enough to listen as the will was read then she'd collected her share and left. She been cool to people at the service, and had only given him a passing glance before he was labelled unimportant and she ignoring him. Zaviea had found her to be the exact opposite of his Mom. Aunt Olivia didn't even know about the death and she'd missed the funereal, all that anyone knew was that she was somewhere in the south of France on vacation.

"You'll be speaking to my aunt about guardianship when she is found?" The man nodded "Fine, then I want you to tell her that the will's executor doesn't want to be revealed and that all the money is locked up in my trust fund till I'm 21. I'll see to sending money for my room and board to her. I'm starting university in New York this fall; I'll be living in the dorm then, and out of her hands. Something tells me we should keep discussions about money to a minimum in front of her. If she asks about it just keep telling her about the locked trust fund and the mysterious executor sir."

"If that is what you want." Mr. Vincent answered. 'I've never met such a shroud young man.' He thought. "Your Mother also left this for you." He said handing Zaviea a business size envelop. On it was written 'Don't open till 4 months after my passing.' Zaviea looked at it for a long time, tempted to open it there and then, but if his mom wanted him to wait four months he would do as she'd wished. "Now the Social worker is waiting outside for you, when we find your aunt we'll settle the guardianship papers. If you'll see to removing the things you want from the properties you wish to sell, I'll get to work on setting up the auctions and putting the properties on the market." After working out some of the details to his 'Executor' plan Zaviea stood up to leave and he solemnly shook the Lawyer's hand.

"Thank you Sir for all your help." He turned but stopped to call back "Oh, what ever happens don't tell my Aunt about the cabin, just say that everything was liquidated."

"'Everything is in the trust fund.' Very well you can count on me and I'll contact my friend in New York about getting you that 'box' near your aunt's apartment." Zaviea nodded and left the office feeling safer. 

His Aunt had returned to Manhattan 3 weeks later, and in the meanwhile Zaviea had graduated high school with his friends, but he hadn't posed for any photos, it wasn't an occasion he wanted to remember. Instead of storing the things he wanted to keep he'd had them shipped up to the couple who kept an eye on the cabin for them… him, and then he'd gone to court to see the man who had killed his mother stand trial. 

***

The man had driven drunk 4 times before and had, had his license revoked on the 4th Time. Zaviea watched the man plead and promise never to do it again. It turned his stomach to think, 

'If someone had only stopped him the first time he'd driven drunk, mom would still be alive now.' The judge handed down a sentence of two years in prison, membership in AA and a year on probation. Zaviea's eyes seamed to glow green for a second. 'It's not enough, my Mom is gone and he's going to be out in six months for good behaviour. Ha.' He snarled to himself. The man was led away and Zaviea excused himself for a moment, telling the social worker he needed to use the bathroom. In the hall he saw the man being led down the corridor, and that he'd was even aloud, by the court officer, to stop for a drink at the water fountain. Quickly passing the two men Zaviea looked around. "Not fair." Zaviea said out-loud. Looking to his left he saw what he needed, a shadowed area under a flight of stairs. "For my mom." Once in the shadow of the stairs Zaviea let his powers loose. His limbs started to tingle; he closed his eyes and felt the stone shell covering him. 3 seconds later he exploded from the stone casing, spread his wings and slashed at the air with his five-foot long tale, through green glowing eyes he saw the man who had ruined his life passing and a roar that would have made a lion jealous burst from his thought. Both men froze has they watched an eight foot tall, dark green skinned, blood red haired creature come out from the shadows under the stairs. It had on what looked like a pair of black spandex bicycle shorts. It's mouth opened, and its lips curled back revealing large upper fangs and only slightly smaller, but no less frightening, lower fangs. Has both men stood frozen they heard it speak a single word. "Murderer." With that said the creature sprang forward and spread out it's dark green and black, bat-like wings to their full 19 foot span. It's hand swiped the man's face, leaving three deep gouges in his cheek. With it's five-foot tale it whipped the man in the back, and then wrapped him up like a yo-yo. A snapping sound echoed down the hall has the man's back broke. The sound startled the creature and it dropped the unconscious man on the floor and disappeared through the front doors of the courthouse. Suddenly the hall was full of people, the guard started to babble about a monster and he pointed to the doors. In the Bushes the Gargoyle closed it's glowing green eyes and became stone again, after three seconds the shell shattered and Zaviea Valentine walked out of the bushes as he brushed stone crumbs from his hair. And using the pandemonium around him, he slipped silently up to the social worker's side. Someone came out from under the stairs holding out a handful of tiny dark green and black swirled stones.

"My daughter and I collect rocks, these are called Aventurine it's a kind of quartz." Looking over his shoulder back under the stairs he continued, "There are thousands of pieces under there…" The social worker took Zaviea's arm.

"You shouldn't be seeing this, come on." They left just has the Man was being loaded onto a backboard. The next day in the paper Zaviea read; 

**"Accused Drunk Driver Attacked at Courthouse"**

"A 5 time repeat offender … killing local artist and single mother Kelly Valentine. She leaves behind her fifteen year old son …" Skimming to the end he read "… was attacked by a creature described as … in hospital suffering from three severe claw-like wounds to the face, and a broken back, which severed his spinal cord. This is one repeat offender who is finally in the eyes of this reporter paying for his crimes. The creature, which committed this noble attack of justice, has not been found." 

Zaviea carefully cut out the article from the newspaper and placed it in the frame, behind his mother's picture. 

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          At a mansion in Westchester New York, a tall man with red glasses, sat back in his chair with a sigh. There was a knock at the door and he smiled, already knowing who it was because of their mind link.

          "Come on in sweetheart." Bobby walked in and startled Scott. 

"I missed you too lover." The younger man laughed. 

"What… Bobby, where is Jean?" Laughing just then his wife walked in smiling.

"Got you." She giggled. "So what's the news about today." Scott shook his head and pointed to a newspaper clipping. Jean picked it up and read it. "Oh, that poor boy." Scott nodded.

"Yes, but mutant violence like that panics the people and makes it harder for all mutants in the end." Bobby read the article when Jean was finished, and he shuttered.

"Its really hot in Florida this time of year, you aren't planning to go looking for this guy are you?" Scott shook his head.

"No, but if he makes the news again we'll have to look into it."

**Dark Star; part 2**

Olivia Valentine-Smith flew in from Manhattan a week after being contacted by her late sister's lawyer, and Zaviea met her at Mr. Vincent's office, with his bags ready to go to straight the airport. Olivia had informed her nephew (over the phone) that they would be taking the first plane back to New York after her meeting with the lawyer, and that she didn't want to have to go chasing all over Florida for his things. Now she was sitting stiffly in the chair in front of Mr. Vincent's cluttered desk, and frowning angrily, obviously unhappy with what she was hearing.

"Everything has already been liquidated, the money was put into Zaviea's trust found weeks ago and locked up till he turns 21. You will be receiving $300 a month for his care, room and board, anything extra, cloths, pocket money, etc.… will be subject to the approval of the executor. If anything should happen to the boy the executor has chosen several worthy charities to which various amounts of money will be donated." Aunt Olivia interrupted.

"Who is the will's executor?" Mr. Vincent shuffled some papers on his desk.

"The executor has requested to remain anonymous. Now Zaviea will be starting collage in two months, and living in the dorm. Obviously you will receive no money during this time. During the school vacations that he spends with you, you will of course receive the previously mentioned amount. Anything you may need to communicate to the executor please mail to this postal box address." Olivia took it and exclaimed.

"This is a New York address. The Executor is in New York?" The Lawyer nodded.

"Yes, he will be." Zaviea's Aunt sat silently; her face became grimmer.

"It would still be better if I became the Executor of my sister's estate, it would be so much faster, if Zaviea needs anything I'd be able to get it for him myself."

"I'm sure it would be, but this is how your sister wanted things and I was asked to handle this case exactly this way madam." Zaviea smirked slightly behind her back at Mr. Vincent. His gut feelings had been right again.

"Well we'll just have to see about setting this will to rights, when I get home. Come Zaviea." Slowly he stood and shook hands with the Lawyer and whispered.

"Thanks for finding me a P.O. Box so fast."

"Hum, it was worth the string pulling it took, just to see the look on her face." They both chuckled and Olivia stuck her head back into the room. 

"Will you come on, already." Zaviea slung his backpack over one shoulder and put the strap of his laptop over the other. Then he picked up his 2 suitcases and carried them out to the car his aunt had rented, the executor would of course be reimbursing her for the car and her roundtrip plain ticket. The ride to the airport was blissfully silent. At the ticket counter Zaviea paid for his plane ticket with money, he'd told his aunt, the Executor had given him. The plane was scheduled to leave in two hours, so when his Aunt went to browse the duty free Zaviea looked at the fleece-lined windbreakers, because even if it was earl July it could still be colder in New York then it was in Florida. He settled on one that had a dark green nylon exterior and a removable black fleece lining, and he smiled thinking, 

'Just my colours.' Their plane was soon called for boarding and Zaviea met his aunt at the gate. Once they where seated he handed his aunt the envelope he'd prepared for her the day before, inside was $600 cash. She looked at it quickly and then stuffed it deep down into her purse. Zaviea didn't much care for airplanes, and after ten minutes he'd always found it disappointing. The take-off's were fun but then zip, it was much more fun to feel the wind holding and dancing with you, then to be stuck in this big piece of fibreglass and steel. His powers let him fly, not has fast has a plane, but they got him where he wanted to go. His Mom had been thrilled when he'd developed his 'Talent' has she'd always called mutant powers, because unlike many parents, who would have freaked out, Kelly Valentine had a 'Talent' of her own and there was also the fact that she'd loved flying with him whenever they'd had the chance. Kelly had had the power to change the colours of anything she touched, which when you worked with stain-glass came in really handy. Another cool thing she'd been able to do with her power was to create tattoos for him, she just thought of a design and touched his skin and a picture would appear on him in the time it took you to blink, painlessly, his friends had been impressed with the large 'Stork flying into the sunset' he'd had on his back all of last summer, and with another thought she could remove them, for herself and Zaviea she'd darkened their skin to a nice healthy tan, with out them having to suffer the harmful effects of the sun, it gave them some protection from burning as easily as most red heads often did. Even now his hand rested unconsciously over his ribs where the last tattoo his mother had made for him, a stylized hawk wearing a crown, would remain forever.  As he sat in his cramped seat in business class he remembered the day his powers had first surfaced. 

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Westchester New York, The cabin, 3 years ago;

The day he'd discovered his powers for the first time; it was early morning, he and his mom had just arrived at the cabin for the summer. They'd been standing on the back deck, looking out at the lake, he had stretched out his hands has if he were trying to touch the water from where he stood, when he'd suddenly felt a tingle creeping up his arms and legs, the tingling had then swept out over his whole body and he'd close his eyes. He'd heard his mother's scream just before everything had gone dark around him, his Mom told him that she'd turned to see a covering of green/black stone swallowing him up. Then he'd felt the need to thrash and had, fighting his way out of the stone shell, to get back to his mother. But it wasn't Zaviea who'd emerged from the stone, it had been his other self, the Gargoyle, 8 feet tall with dark green skin, bat-like wings of dark green and black and hair redder then Zaviea's with a crown of spikes on it's brow, a five-foot tail, four fingered hands and three toed feet with heel spurs. Later, after experiencing another 'stoning' both mother and son were very happy to know that the changes weren't permanent. They'd even found out that whatever Zaviea was wearing when he changed came back with Zaviea, and after the embarrassment of the first time, they saw that this applied also to his Gargoyle form too. His mom had made a rush trip to the shopping mall, a half-hour drive away, to buy something for him to wear in his alternate form besides a red/white-chequered tablecloth. 

"Lucky you, manifesting your powers only one day and already you have a collection of spandex to choose from. I had to join an aerobics class before I got my first spandex outfit." She'd joked. "What's next a code name?" Over the summer they'd worked at finding out how to control his changes. There was the happy memory of being in his 'Gar' form and getting ready to dive into the lake when the wind had suddenly grabbed his wings and had held him aloft for the first time. Then by the last week he had taken his Mom up flying, he'd promised to stay over the lake. She'd put on her bathing suit and jumped into his arms, but just before he'd jumped off the deck into the winds she'd yanked on her rollerblading helmet.

"Is that anyway to show your confidence in me Mom?" She'd shaken her head.

"No, but it sure makes me feel a lot better." And they'd both laughed has the wind had carried them around the lake.

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On the Airplane:

Zaviea looked over at his aunt, 

'My talent.' He wondered 'if she ever saw me change she'd pass out.' He savoured that thought a moment. She'd be yelling at him, about the money of course, he'd let his control slip, and has she kept yelling at him she'd be shocked to see him become a green Aventurine stone statue, from the top of his head to his sneakers. Then she'd see the statue start to crack, pieces falling off and then suddenly the entire statue would shatter. Then with a loud roar, flared wings, and a slashing tail he'd look at her with his fangs bared and his eyes glowing bright green. Not Zaviea her nephew, but a Gargoyle. Then his Aunt would try to scream but she'd only get out a little 'eep'… then she'd fall over. 

"Zaviea, wake up." He bolted upright "We're landing." She snapped at him. He opened his eyes and for a split second she thought she saw them glowing green. She drove them to her apartment in s suburb of Salem Centre and led him inside. "The guest room is down at the end of the hall, put your things away in the closet and dresser. Don't hang anything on the walls, I don't want any holes anywhere and you don't change anything in that room understood."

"Yes Aunt-" with a cold glare she cut him off.

"Don't ever call me Aunt, it's Olivia." She gave him an expectant look so he said.

"Yes, Olivia." He opened the door to the guestroom and entered. When he saw what the room he'd been given looked like he shuttered. Everywhere you looked, pink, frills, and lace screamed "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!" at him. "Heck if I know." He muttered. He found himself just standing there in the middle of that room. Then he looked at his reflection in the mirror over the white and gold dresser, he saw himself and part of a pink wall behind him. "Boy do I clash or what?" he said looking at his bright red hair against the pink paint. With a sigh he put his suitcase on the frilly, and lacy little couch at the foot of the bed that was covered in a pink satin spread. He slid his backpack under the bed and started unpacking his suitcases. For now he left his computer packed, setting the case under the window, which he opened a crack out of habit. 'I'll have time enough to set it up tomorrow.' He thought. When he was done he went to look around the apartment, the entrance opened right into the living room decorated in chrome, class, black and white. The kitchen was just a little hole in the wall. The bedroom he'd been given was right next to the yellow, orange and white bathroom and the closed door was Aunt … Olivia's room. Has he stood in the living room she came out and said.

"I have a date coming over, the Salem centre mall is three blocks over from here-" she tossed him a ten "go get something to eat and see a movie. There'll be a red car parked out front, till it's gone you stay gone. There is an extra key to the apartment on the hall table." Than she walked into the bathroom and closed the door. He looked at the door a moment, shrugged and then grabbed the key, his new jacket and left. Zaviea knew that he'd have to see this new 'Habitat' that he'd been thrust into, but he hadn't expected to do it so soon after arriving. He left the building then stopped, 

"Three blocks away, fine. But in which direction?" looking around he saw a thicket of bushes beside the building… and he smiled "Its no phone booth but hay it'll work. The best way to explore a new place, I always say, is from the air." Concealed by the bushes he stretched out his arms and widened his stance. The 'creeping tingles' has he liked to call them now, shot through his body, he closed his eyes and 3 seconds later he flicked his tale, stretched his arms, flexed his legs, tossed his head, and used the crown like spikes on his forehead to break away the stone shell. Zaviea lifted his glowing green eyes to the stars and had to force himself to emit only a low growl instead of his customary roar. He was just about to step out of the bushes when a sporty little red car pulled up and a man with brown hair, touched with grey at the sides, stepped out. 'Olivia's date.' Zaviea looked at the vanity plates on the car. "IM LAW" "Well, well the boyfriend is a Lawyer or a cop." He looked at the way the man was dressed, "Yup, a lawyer. This will probably make things interesting." He said then slowly climbed up the side of the building and onto the roof. He adjusted the black spandex bicycle shorts that he'd been wearing when he'd last been in 'Gar' and was silently thankful that heat and cold didn't affect him in this form. Looking around he saw no one, so he unfurled his wings and caught a passing gust of wind and soared up into the air. He found the shopping mall Olivia had talked about; it was east of the apartment. A darkened loading dock's shadows offered the best spot to re-stone into his human form. When he broke out of the green rock, he was once again just a tall, red haired boy in a green Windbreaker and jeans.

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Original disclaimer: 

This is part 3 of my, Gargoyles inspired, X-Man Story (maybe in this one I'll actually get to the part where at-least one of the X-Men shows up). Disney owns the Gargoyles and the X-Men are owned Marvel. 

NOTE: In my world Xavier is 60, has been training the X-men for 20 years and has been in a wheelchair for 15 years. One person told me, that Xavier lost the use of his legs in a fight with Magneto and another said that it was because of his powers that he couldn't use his legs. Just so you know Zaviea's Mom was 47 when she died and his aunt is fifty (wow what plastic surgery can't do). I'd be happy to get emails from you, I might not answer it, but I would like any tips you might have that could improve my writing. 

Here we go…

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Note: In my the first draft of this story I had made it to the middle of this first part before putting this story aside… and not a single X-Man had even appeared in it, now I've put them in and even snuck in a few here and there, see if you can spot them.

**Dragon Star Part 3**

Zaviea casually walked into the mall, looking around he saw that it had the usual collection of stores to choose from and some kind of art show was being held in the centre court. The movie theatre Zaviea found out, after having looked at a 'You are here map', was on the other side of the mall complex, and the food court and it's restaurants where right next to it. People walked by ignoring each other, as senior citizens, who had been left in the mall early that morning to wonder around all day, were being collected by family members or buses going back to rest homes. Zaviea watched for a moment and wondered why people saw malls like daycare for the elderly. Having by now reached the theatre he stopped to look over the movie posters before going to eat. He was unimpressed by what he saw. Basically he had a choice between "The mutant who loved me" A romantic/comedy. Where a 'Normal' human girl brings her boyfriend, a 'Mutant' home to meet the folks, or "Attack of the mad Mutants" an action/adventure film, that put the 'Hero' saving the world from "'Mutants' that you wouldn't want to find in a dark ally." Preferably by blowing up has many of them has creatively possible. At the ticket booth a couple was arguing if they should buy their tickets now or wait and get them at the door later.

"But Jo, this here's a really popular movie and I'd like to get 'em tickets now sugar." The woman argued,  "They could all be sold out later." She pointed out logically. With his hearing Zaviea heard the White haired man mutter,

"I can only hope to be that lucky." The woman gave him 'the look' and asked.

"What did ya'll say?" The man smiled and said louder, 

"I certainly hope that isn't so, you are quite right, we should get them now." Zaviea smiled at the pour guy who was sweating bullets to keep his date happy, as he thought to the guy,

'Nice save pal.' The white haired man looked startled all of a sudden as he looked around. They bought their tickets and just as they turned to leave the ticket seller posted the sold out sign over their movie and his date shot him a triumphant grin. Sighing in disgust now that all his options were gone Zaviea decided to go find something to eat. 'Happy Joe's Taco's' was offering a burrito combo plate or has they called it "The Happy Joe's Mambo plate" (The puns where bad but the food was good) it was made up of mex-salad, two chicken burritos and a soda, and with no movie to see he might splurge on desert later. A quick stop next door at "French Fry Heaven" for a plate of fry's 'N' gravy (He never could eat those chilli fries) and Zaviea was soon looking for a table. He found a seat at a table for two that was tucked into the shadows at the back of the food court. Has he ate he did some more people watching. When at the larger table beside him a gang of young people, all around 17-18, started to talk louder, well louder for Zaviea anyway. Because of his 'mutant talent' Zaviea's eyesight and hearing where better then a regular humans, even if he wasn't in his Gar form. So their whispers where like someone talking at regular volume for him.

"I've been waiting all week to see this flick." A dark haired teen was telling the brown haired girl sitting next to him.

"Yea, it's going to be great to see some 'Muties' get blasted," a blond haired girl laughed. "Do you think they used real mutants?" she asked. A brown haired boy shook his head.

"Na, Actors got a union see, they don't let muties into it." Then the brown haired girl said.

"Not like the music biz, they'll take anyone." A man and two more girls soon joined the foursome and they all started talking again. Zaviea bit his tongue at one point, because he was so busy listening in on their table.

"Eyoooooow." He howled before he could stop himself. The man, who looked older then the others, around 20 or so, turned to look at Zaviea,

"Like you got a problem?" the man asked looking over at the red haired guy at the next table. Zaviea shook his head. 

"No I just bit my tongue." The girls giggled. The older man, who seamed to be the group leader just rolled his eyes has he said,

"Right." and he turned back to his friends. "The F.O.H. meeting is tomorrow in the mall's south loading dock." He whispered. They talked about their meeting and how cool some guy named Creed was for a wile till one of the girls said.

"It's almost show time, lets go." Then she looked over at Zaviea "Hey, if you can stop biting yourself, you wanna come and see a film with us." Zaviea was stuck; he didn't want to pass the night with a gang of mutant heaters. He had to tell them something, but why had the 'Something' been…

"Sorry, but I promised my girlfriend I'd take her to see the other film." Yuck, no way was he sitting, alone, through two hours of 'Darling I love you but…' dialogue.

"Your girlfriend hu, where is she?" one of the guys asked him.

"Oh, she is coming late. She um…works for her dad." The gang looked at each other, shrugged then left. After that Zaviea trashed the papers on his tray and dragged himself to the theatre, but once he saw the last of them go in he did a 180' and headed to the loading dock, the same loading dock that the F.O.H. was going to use for their next meeting. 'How poetic.' Zaviea thought has he re-stoned. After shaking off the last stone crumbs he climbed to the roof of the mall and glided off to look around the suburb where he would be spending his summer. An hour later after stopping a mugging and a having foiled a car-jacking, Zaviea in Gar form stood on the roof of his Aunt's apartment drumming his fingers and staring holes into the little red car that was *Still* parked out front. Well he'd had enough of this, so he climbed down to his window and quietly opened it. Zaviea was thankful he'd gotten into the habit over the years of leaving windows open slightly. Once he was in the room he caught sight of himself in the mirror again and almost laughed out loud. If Zaviea didn't fit in this room the 'Gar' fit in it even less. He could just imagine the lace fainting and the ruffles trying to revive it. Then the voices coming from the living room caught his attention.

"You know-" said a man's voice "I've been thinking, maybe the boy has some papers somewhere in his room, they might tell us who the Executor is." Zaviea's eyes grew wide. Oh boy did he ever **have** papers; he had the original will, not the rewritten copy he and the lawyer had made for his Aunt to cover his story. Quickly Zaviea grabbed his backpack from under the bed; it held the will, his stock portfolios, all his important papers and the letter from his Mom. With the pack under one arm and at the last moment his tale curling around the handle of his laptop's case he darted out the window. Clinging to the side of the building he was able to close the window just has the lights came on in his room. "Olivia," the man sounded shocked "you put a boy in **this** room?" 

"Yes I did. I'm not going to change things around just for him, I like this room." Then Zaviea heard drawers sliding open and shut, the closet door creaking and hangers being moved. "Funny he had a computer on the plane, he must have taken it to the mall with him." The minutes pass till. "There is nothing here, and I need to tell my cleaning lady she's fired, there are dust bunnies under this bed. What do you have?" she asked. Zaviea leaned closer to peek inside and almost lost his grip on the building.

"A photo album." The man said has he flipped it open. 

'Oh no, not that!' Zaviea thought, if he hadn't needed both hands to hug the building and hold onto the backpack he would have smacked himself in the head for his stupidity. In the album were some pictures he'd selected out of all the other albums he'd sent up to the cabin. He'd kept some pictures of his Mom from over the years, others were of his grandparents, one was a photo of his father. Merek Drious and his Mom had known each other back in collage and they'd met again years later and married Merek, they'd both known when they'd married that he was sick with cancer, he had passed-away when Zaviea was four, and his family had been very nasty about his last wishes, they'd tried to have everything he'd owned taken away from Kelly and she'd been so up set that she'd changed both their names back to Valentine. But what worried Zaviea was the last photo in the album, it was one of him in his Gar form standing next to his Mother and they were holding between them the stain-glass window of a gargoyle that his Mom had made of him for the cabin. 

"Look at that, Disney can just make anything look so real. You'd swear that this guy was alive and not some actor in a costume." At his Aunt's words Zaviea relaxed slightly.

"So no papers, no executor's name …I'll look into what I can do to get you control of the boys money when I go into the office tomorrow, but for now… Enough work." The man growled. Zaviea was shocked when he heard his Aunt squeal like a little girl.

"Chad darling…." But all Zaviea could think was, 

'Not in my room, I know its pink and all, but heck Chad have a heart!' relief flooded him when his Aunt said, 

"Let's go into the living-room. I have some champagne, chilled and waiting …to toast our future success in getting what I want." She purred. Climbing back up onto the roof Zaviea went through the papers in the backpack, being able to see in the dark was turning out to be a good thing around here.

"Well these are going into a safety-deposit-box first thing tomorrow, good thing that there is three banks in the mall." He thought out loud.

* * * 

Zaviea was woken up from his doze by the muted roar of an engine starting below him. Looking at his wrist he grunted, the 'Gar' didn't wear a watch. Looking down he saw the red taillights of the sports car fading into the night, so he jumped off the building spreading his wings to slow his fall, and ducked back into the bushes to re-stone. Then once that was done he looked at his watch (that he had been wearing in human form) it was passing 2:30 in the morning, 

'Hasn't anyone ever told Olivia that growing boys need their sleep, or I'll never reach 6.5' if this continues.' Quietly he grabbed his backpack and computer and went into the apartment, he again had to use his night vision to get to his room without having to turn on the lights, because he could hear his Aunt snoring from the living room. 'An' there is no way I'm looking in there.' Zaviea thought has he quietly closed and locked his door. Walking over to the closet he reached up and pulled down the photo album, quickly sliding it into the backpack with his papers. Even if Olivia had seen it Zaviea didn't want her leafing through it again, these were the Memories of his loved-ones and he wasn't sharing them with anyone like her.

* * * 

The next morning Zaviea was drinking coffee; it was the only thing in the house that he trusted, because in the fridge he'd found enough green growing stuff to make a mad genetic scientist happy. After he'd dump all the bad food into the trash and sent the bag down the trash shoot in the hall, he was happy to find in the back of a cupboard a box of "Just add water N' its pancakes." O.K. so the box was a little dusty on top, but after the things he'd seen in the fridge this was food for a king. Sometime during the night his Aunt had returned to her room to sleep in her own bed and since it was almost 7:00am she should be up at anytime for work, (Olivia sells real estate) so Zaviea decided to make enough food for two. Not five minutes later she stepped into the kitchen, she was a tall, slim woman with a calculating look on her face, she oozed success and considering that she was pushing fifty you could bet shed had a nip here and a tuck there, her had her long blond hair brushed back from her face and clipped at the side with a fancy gold clip. She looked around at what he was doing and then saw the coffee. Zaviea handed her a mug from the rack behind him; she poured a cup and took a small sip then another one.

"This is good." She said with surprise. 

"I've been making coffee since I was five." The first of the pancakes was ready, so after spreading some margarine and raspberry jam on it Zaviea rolled it up and offered it to her. 

"I don't usually eat in the morning, but that smells good… thank you." She said hesitantly as she took the plate and sat on a stool behind the counter. "I'm showing several properties to some clients today, and I'll be back late tonight. What are you going to do?" Zaviea shrugged.

"If you want to make a list, I can go to the store and get some food. I had to toss the milk and some of the other things that went bad in the fridge." She nodded and took a pad and pencil from beside the phone.

"Just get what is on the list, then leave the recite and change on the counter." Zaviea nodded and picked up his plate, Olivia went to shower and dress for work. After she was gone he walked to the mall, (it was too risky to fly there, with all the mutant haters that would be around that day.) Before going for the groceries he stopped by a branch of the same bank he'd used in Florida. In no time he'd transferred his accounts, gotten a safety deposit box that he put all his important papers and the photo album into it and left the bank after he'd slipped a five dollars bill into the S.P.C.A.'s donation box. He did the shopping and used his now empty backpack to haul it all back to the apartment, then free to roam he caught a bus into downtown Manhattan to pick up the key to his new P.O. Box. The office was open twenty-four hours a day, so Zaviea could just fly in to pick up his mail whenever he wanted. 

*******************

Late that Afternoon; 

Back from the post office, Zaviea went to see what an F.O.H. rally looked like, he'd heard that the New York chapter of the Friends of Humanity was the roughest one in America. When he arrived he was surprised to see that so many people had turned out to listen to the hate mongers break wind. The police was there keeping an 'eye' on things but Zaviea could see that most of the officers were enjoying the speeches too. As he stood in the very back listening a short dark-haired man went prowling past him and even paused to 'Sniff' him, then he walked off and got into a beat up old Jeep muttering about strangely familiar scents and how someone named Jubilee would choose to go shopping on a day like today. The sun was out and things were getting warm out in the open so he decides to retreat into the cool of the mall and maybe grab a soda… oh ice cream, yes he'd have ice cream. With a big smile he walked quickly to the food court and ordered a large double scoop of pistachio with a cup of soda water. He turned and almost knocked into a short oriental girl in a bright yellow trench coat.

"Oh, sorry." He smiled. "I didn't see you there." She looked up at him and laughed, 'wow she has blue eyes.' 

"No problemo, man that looks good," she pointed to his Ice cream. He nodded. 

"It is, why sit out side melting and listening to idiots yelling about 'Muties' when you can be doing some thing fun like eating." Zaviea stopped suddenly, what was he saying, she might be one of 'Them' and he'd just insulted her. The girl saw the look on his face and smiled.

"Ya, they are way lame." Zaviea sighed and turned back to the counter.

"Excuse me, a cone for the lady please… my treat." He smiled. Soon they were walking through the mall and joking together like they'd known each other for years. She said her name was Jubilee and he introduced himself. They walked past the theatre and she made a face at the posters.

"Ug… Rogue wanted to see this movie for months and dragged Joseph to it last night. She said it was good, when she left the room Joseph nearly pulled his hair out as he told us all how bad it was." She imitated her friend for Zaviea, and soon they wereboth laughing, till someone called out to him.

"Hey toung biter, that your girl?" It was one of the teens from the other day. "Why don't you guys come and listen to the rally, Creed is speaking any moment now, we got seats near the wall." The teen walked off and Zaviea cringed.

"Toung biter?" Jubilee asked. He blushed and explained about how he'd 'met' the group of young F.O.H.ers last night. "So when do I meet your girlfriend." He smiled.

"You won't I just got here from Florida yesterday afternoon and suddenly having a 'Girlfriend' was what got me out of having to see 'Attack of the mad Mutants' with those F.O.H. guys last night." Jubilee linked her arm through his.

"Well I'm your friend and guess what?"

"What?" She pulled him down and whispered into his ear.

"I'm a girl." He put his arm around her shoulder and smiled.

"So do you want to see how bad 'The Mutant who loved me' is." He asked her, she smiled. It was nice and cool in the theatre and dark, they sniggered and made fun of the film and soon people were turning to give them nasty looks. At one point in the film the mutants mother hugger her son and said she was happy he'd found a normal girl to settle down with. Zaviea didn't know he was crying till he felt the crystals falling into his hands.

"What is that plinking sound? Sounds like someone is throwing pebbles on the floor" Jubilee asked, she turned and saw a tear fall from his eye. "You okay?" He told her about his mom's death and how bad it was living with his aunt so far; she said she understood because her folks had died in a car crash almost two years ago, and that she'd even lived in a mall. To lighten the mood he told her about his room and they were soon laughing again. After they had dinner at 'Happy Jo's" and Jubilee ordered the chilli fries from 'Fry Heaven'. Soon Zaviea had to get going he'd left a note for his aunt but he didn't want to get her mad his second night in town. "I had a wonderful time, Zav thanks. You got my phone number and I have yours." He nodded. "So we'll get together soon, I'll show you the ropes around here." 

"You going to be okay out here on your own?" She looked around and smiled.

"Ya, Wolvie is coming for me soon." At his look questioning she smiled, "He is like my dad, you know looks out for me." He said goodnight, hugged her and walked off into the night. As he reached the edge of the parking lot his hearing picked up a strange monotone voice. 

"Halt Mutant." And suddenly the night was light up by fireworks. Zaviea turned and saw Jubilee running as she shot a kind of colourful light, from her hands, over her shoulder at a thirty-foot tall robot.

"No!" He yelled as he stoned up. In "Gar" form he didn't bother with running back to the mall to get high up enough to catch the wind; he leapt up onto a nearby car and then onto a minivan to launch himself into the air. He soared back to the mall and from his vantage point he could see the coloured lights and the robots jets far off to his left, so that is where he was going.

***********

Jubilee was breathing hard, and she had a stitch in her side, running from the sentinel had gotten her out on an old railroad bridge in the industrial park. Just as she was starting to think she'd lost it, a red blast hit the bridge near her foot, and she sprang back with a yelp, but that last step was a doozy. Jubilee fell through a gap in the rails and just managed to catch the edge of the bridge before she would have plunged forty feet to the ground below, and she couldn't do anything but hang there helplessly. The Sentinel landed next to the bridge and was reaching out to grab her when a loud roar echoed through the night; Jubilee looked where the robot stood just as a large green 'Thing' crashed on it and started ripping into it.

"It's neck, go for its neck!" She yelled franticly. The winged creature clawed his way higher and started to tear at the robots thought, and with a grinding sound the machine's eyes went dim and it started to keel over. "Look out!" Her rescuer jumped clear and swooped over to where Jubilee was loosing her grip, as he came close she slipped and fell. "Aaaaarrrrggggg!!!" And he suddenly appeared and caught her in his arms.

"Ju- um… are you okay miss?" Zaviea asked his friend. 'I can't let her know its me.' They landed and he put her down gently. She looked up at him.

"Ya, thanks for the help, who are you?" She asked. Zaviea looked around trying to think of something to say, when an old poster stuck to the cement piling of the bridge caught his eye. 'World's largest star sapphire "Dragon Star" is on display at the museum of natural history…'

"Um… I'm DragonStar." He smiled. 'I have a code name, hey mom, I have a code name.' He thought up to his mother in heaven, 'you anyways said I'd end up with one.' "Are you okay? What is, was… that thing?" Brushing the dirt off her hands Jubilee looked at him, something was so familiar about this strange mutant.

"That is a sentinel, its a mutant hunter, developed by the government and when the project was shut down they went underground, they have a nasty habit of just popping out of the wood work every now and then." She explained. "So what are you.?" Zaviea smiled proudly.

"I'm a Gargoyle, I can glide and- Waaaa!" (Thud) Zaviea didn't get any farther because just then a very heavy body jumped on him.

"IF you've laid one finger on her you'll be a dead Gargoyle!" Jubilee gasped and ran to pull Wolverine off her rescuer.

"Like Wolvie! He saved me!" Logan cast a blank look up at her, as she tapped her foot impatiently on the ground and crossed her arms. "From that." She pointed at the nearly decapitated robot.

"Oh, right… sorry kid." He sniffed, "I've smelt you earlier today, you were at the rally." Zaviea nodded, but now that Jubilee was safe he really needed to get back to the apartment.

'No way will I ever call that place home.' He thought, "Well if your okay I'll be going then." Wolverine called out,

"Wait kid, here's our number if you ever need help call us, we look after our own." Zaviea looked at him questioningly, "Mutants we help mutants." Zaviea smiled, took the card and leapt onto the piling and climbed till he was high enough to catch a breeze and flew off into the night. "Tall, really tall kid." Logan muttered looking down at Jubilee.

"Ya he was, how'd you find me anyway?" Logan smiled as they walked back to his Jeep.

"I'll always find ya darlin'" And they drove off back to the mansion as she told 'Wolvie' all about her new friend Zaviea.

***************

A month later;

          Things had fallen in to a routine for Zaviea, he'd do the groceries on Monday, drop off/pick up Olivia's dry-cleaning on Wednesdays, and clean the house on Fridays (Replacing the fired cleaning lady), to 'earn his keep and stay out of trouble' his aunt had told him, and he met Jubilee every now and then to go malling. Zaviea would make coffee every morning and Olivia would tell him about the errands she wanted him to run for her. He humoured her for a wile, but things about her were starting to get on his nerves now. When she left for work that morning he decided to call the college and find out how early he'd be aloud to move into the dorm, so he could get away from her as soon as possible. A woman with a thick New York accent answered his call.

"NYU, how can I help you?" He asked her about the dorms and she put him on hold, "Um… Mr. Valentine, the computer says your application was cancelled last month, you aren't registered for a dorm or for any classes here." Zaviea was floored.

"That can't be right, I never cancelled my application my mother and I even came up from Florida to confirm everything." He could hear the sound of typing. What could have happened, his stomach churned.

"Oh, here you are… um… it says here that your aunt called and cancelled your application because your mother passed away and that you needed more time to adjust. My condolences Mr. Valentine." Olivia, why would she do this to him?

"No, I don't need more time, have my application reinstated please, I-" She sighed.

"I'm sorry but once you, well… your aunt cancelled, your place was immediately filled. We have a very long waiting list. You can always shift your application to next semester, I'll give you top priority." She offered as a kind of apology for the mix up.

"Yes please do that, thank you for your help." He hung up the phone. Zaviea wanted answers and he wanted them now. If his aunt could go through his things without asking, he could go through hers too, so he searched through all the papers in the apartment and in the back of the desk in her room he found a file with his name on it. Jackpot, he read through it, outlined was her lawyer/boyfriend's plan of action. 'How thoughtful of Chad, ha, here it is.' On the list he found written; postpone his school application, this will enable you to have the boy longer and more chances of being contacted by the executor. 'Oh I'll contact her alright.' Zaviea thought angrily. He wrote up a quick email to Mr. Vincent and told him to watch out and be careful, things were going to get hot really fast. That night when Olivia arrived home he was curled up on the floor watching television.

"Why don't you ever sit on the couch? You're always sitting on the floor like some kind of animal when you're in here." Zaviea shrugged, he wasn't about to tell her he knew about what she did on that couch.

"I like to stretch out, and the carpet is really comfortable." She just shook her head and went into the kitchen for a glass of white wine. "Um aun- Olivia?" He called after her; she came back with her drink and looked at him. "I called the university today and they said I wasn't registered for the fall semester anymore, I asked why and the lady said you'd cancelled my application, I want to know why you did that?" For a split second she gave him a cool look, and then covered it up with concern.  

"Oh, Zaviea I know you think your ready to go to school, but you still need time to sort yourself out, I had your best interests at heart, surly you can understand that?" She asked as she sat down next to him, placing a hand on his knee. "Why when my mother died I was devastated." Zaviea could still see her that day; yes she'd been devastated all right, because her part of the settlement had been so small. "I wrote and told your executor all about it weeks ago." Was it just him or was her hand moving up his leg? "Your big for your age, how tall are you?" she asked.

"Um. I'm 6.2'… Um Olivia?" Yes her hand was definitely moving up his leg now. 'Eeek, she's a fifty year old woman, my aunt to boot and well… Eeek!' his mind shouted.

"Yes dear one?" She tightened her grip on his leg as he vowed that he would not throw up.

"What are you doing?" She smiled, 'this wasn't on the lawyer's list of things to do! Its like a sick version of 'The Graduate' what do I do.'

"Zaviea, your what 18 now, boys get curious at your age, you know you can ask me any thing." He cleared his through and put his hand over hers, her smile brightened.

"AUNT Olivia, I'm fifteen, my mother has already had that talk with me and please," He took her hand that was now very high on his leg and moving to a very disturbing area, "keep your hands to yourself." He jumped to his feet, ran to his room and locked the door. He could hear her cursing and she knocked on his door telling him to open it. "Olivia, I'm sorry but I don't feel right doing that just now," He quickly typed up an email to Mr. Vincent. 

Mr. Vincent, 

Hi how are you? I'm fine except that my aunt just tried to grab my… leg. As you know I'm no longer going to school, I'm leaving for the cabin, do not tell her where I am. I will contact you soon 

Zaviea.

He packed up his computer and then packed up his backpack, Olivia was still knocking, and he hoped she'd get a splinter. With all his papers safe in the safety deposit box Zaviea knew all he needed was his computer and some cloths, anything else he'd need was waiting for him at the cabin. With one last look around Zaviea looked at the ugly room and gleefully stoned up. Zaviea almost wished he could stay incased in stone, but he knew that he needed to get going before his aunt got the door opened. Just as the last of the stones shell fell to the carpet and he opened the window wide the door to his room flew open.

"Zaviea, I don't know what you think was happening but let me tell you, I would never…" She suddenly realized what she was talking to wasn't her nephew. "What? Aaaaaa, Aaaaaa. Where's the kid" What are you? help me some one help me." Had to give her credit she sure had a set of powerful lungs. Zaviea smiled at her, making sure she saw all his big pointy teeth and then jumped out the window. 

**************

And so that is how he'd come to be resting here under this bridge, during his long flight to the cabin. He knew the fire wasn't really necessary but he just felt so cold on the inside, and he could have stayed in 'Gar' form but he didn't want to risk being seen. So here he sat thinking, and the funny thing was Olivia had been right he wasn't finished getting over his mom and adding all the junk she'd just pulled on him he couldn't keep it in any more, he sat on the ground next to his bags and started to cry, at fifteen he'd lost his mom, his home, the life secure he'd had known, and because there wasn't anyone around to see or hear him he let it all out, and soon big crystal tears littered the ground and glimmered brightly in the moonlight. Zaviea cried and cried, he was soon gasping at the pain he was feeing inside, then he heard a sound nearby and looked up quickly. 

*************

Jubilee gasped in surprise when she saw who it was sitting under the bridge crying, she and the X-Men had come out to find the mutant that had setoff Cerebro's alarms, and when Wolvie had heard the heart wrenching cries he'd led them all here.

"Zaviea!" She was kneeling beside the tall red haired boy in an instant, the mystery mutant could wait her buddy needed her. "What happened? What are you doing here? Are you hurt?" Words poured from her like a soothing stream over him, as she pulled him into her arms. He took a hiccupping breath.

"I had to leave, she tried to… she was… she was going to **Touch** me, she's like fifty and creepy, I had to leave, she cancelled my application to school so I'd have to stay with her, I don't want to have to stay with her... She wants the money my parents left me." He hid his face in Jubilee's shoulder. 'So this is what friends are for.' Someone else was kneeling next to him and he jumped startled. It was a black woman with long white hair.

"Child, who has harmed you?" she asked calmly. Zaviea looked at her, about to answer when he saw a man dressed in a strange blue and yellow uniform, with a kind of sci-fi scanner over his eyes. On instinct to protect Jubilee and the quiet woman, he stoned up and broke out with a loud roar as he quickly to grabbed and thrust Jubilee behind him.

"Jubilee quick take her and run, save yourselves, I'll hold him off." He yelled without taking his eyes of the man, who smiled? "You maybe smiling now mister, but you try anything and it will be your last."

"Zaviea! You're DragonStar?" Zaviea sighed.

"J-Lee, less talking, more escaping." Jubilee put her hand on his shoulder and pointed to the shadows, standing there was a stocky man dresses in yellow with strange fins on either side of his mask. "Cripes, we're surrounded." The man took off his mask; it was J-Lee's friend/father Wolvie. "They're your friends."

"Na," Everyone, and there were many of then, looked at her sharply, "their my family." Storm hugged her. "So your aunt put the moves on you?" He nodded. "Icky, where you running off to?" He shrugged.

"I have a place up in Westchester, I just stopped here cause my wings were tired." Capeing his wings over himself he looked at the people around him, "Um why are you all out here?" Jubilee smiled.

"Would you believe we're here lookin' for you?" She explained about Ceribro, as Scott invited him back to the mansion Jean's eyes were caught by the glittering stones on the ground, and she picked them up and after looking them over she pocketing them. Zaviea wasn't sure what to say to Scott's offer, but with J-Lee poking him in the ribs he accepted and stoned up back into his human self. When they landed in the hanger they were greeted by Henry McCoy and Professor Xavier, once the circumstances of Zaviea's situation were explained a very ticked off Xavier had promised to contact Mr. Vincent the next morning and seeing about pressing charges against his aunt for molestation. He was given a guest room and once he was under the covers Jubilee brought him a glass of milk and some cookies, "Jean made them, wait till you try her pancakes, tomorrow they're amazing." She stretched out next to him on the bed, and they both fell asleep. Walking by the room Gambit smiled and waved for Storm, who was going up to her room, to come and look at the sleeping children. 

# Storm, is the boy well? # Xavier's voice asked, he'd been impressed with Zaviea and wished him to be comfortable here with the X-Men.

'Yes professor, see for yourself.' Storm offered. Xavier chuckled, and saw Scott's inquiring look. 

"Zaviea was speaking with Jubilee and they fell asleep on each other." Scott looked concerned and stood. "No Scott, she's fine there and I believe she is a friendly face that he needs right now." Charles was at surprised by Scott's protective tendencies towards Jubilee, at times he thought if she didn't have Logan, Scott would be more then happy to step in and become a 'dad' to her.

************

Two weeks later:

The phone rang in Charles Xavier's privet study, through the open window he could hear Jubilee giggling as Zav flew her around the lake with a water balloon hunting Warren and Bobby, only to be taken out by Storm and Gambit, but it was okay, because Jean and Scott got Bobby and Angel as they'd stopped to laugh at the kids, it was a training session meant to teach the flyers to protect the people they were carrying. 

"Hello, Xavier's School. Xavier speaking." His face went white, "When? … Yes, I have the boy here and his aunt has been formally charged with child abuse, her trial is set for next week… Yes I understand… thank you for informing me." He hung up and looked out at the lake, worry creasing his brow. A knock at the door brought him back to himself. "Enter."

"Hot today," Logan set a glass of ice tea, in front of him and sat looking out the window at the people 'playing' by the lake then he smiled at the professor. "He's a good kid… Chuck what's wrong."

"That was the Florida police department, Mr. Vincent, Zav's lawyer, was found this morning in his office, he was dead." Logan choked on his bear mid gulp, "The secretary found him and was able to tell the investigators that the only thing missing from the office was Zaviea's file with our address and his mother's will, and that a fake will for Zav was found on Mr. Vincent's desk, she knew it was fake because she'd typed up herself and remembered that he'd left everything to various charities, in the fake will his aunt is named as the sole beneficiary if anything happens to Zav. They, they police, believe that who ever is responsible for the murder might come after the boy here." Logan nodded.

"I'll inform Bish, and 'Boy Scout' to be on the look out, I'll tell the others in privet to keep an eye on the kids, and to put off all outings till further notice." Xavier nodded. "No one is hurting that kid, anymore then he's already been. I'll even take a drive past her apartment and ask the neighbours if she's gone anywhere recently, violatin' her bail by leaving the state an murdering someone could put her away longer then tryin' to get it on with the kid."

"Thank you, Logan I'll call the others in for the briefing now, and thank you for the tea." Logan waved as he stomped out of the room to go fill everyone in on the current situation, and then he was going for a drive into Salem Centre. 

*******************

Two weeks later:

Sometimes everyting didn't fall on the X-Men's shoulders to be fixed, the Florida Pd, NYPD and F.B.I. were able to, with the help of Zaviea's aunt, arrest IM LAW the 'boyfriend', who swore he was acting on her order when he killed Mr. Vincent, but she denied any involvement, and lack of evidence and her full cooperation got her off the hook, at the trial for guardianship she insisted that Zav had misunderstood her intentions, Logan had been asked to leave the courtroom when he'd bellowed, 

"What's to misunderstand, you felt up the kid's leg and were about to grab his crot-" A blushing Storm had covered his mouth at that point. In the end the ruling was that Zaviea had misunderstood his aunt's comforting gesture, but that he would be staying at Xavier's school, where he was about to start attending classes later that month. That had been Jean's idea, to sign Zav up for school, so he could stay with them, what ever the courts decided, she received a dozen pink roses from Zav the next day as a thank you. With a card that had read;

Dear Jean,

Thank you for saving my butt, and any other parts of me my aunt had plans for.

                                      Love Zav

****************

Days later;

Happy to be among friends Zav willingly pulled out his photo album to show them his family, He'd transferred all his important papers to the mansion after the trial, and was showing it to Jubilee and some of the other X-Men.

"This is my mom." He held out a photo of a woman in her early forties, Zav had her red hair, and green eyes, and after a comment of 'a real pretty lady kid.' From Logan it was handed to the professor, who gasped.

"Kelly, Kelly Valentine is your mother?" Zav smiled and nodded.

"Yes, do you know her work?" he asked referring to her stain glass creations.

"Yes, I know her work, but I also knew her, we grew up together and were good friends, then I had my accident and we… lost touch. Last I'd heard, from her parents, she'd married and had… a son." Zav smiled and waved.

"Hi." Everyone laughed. At the back of the album was the letter from his mother, Zav had completely for gotten about it. Jubilee read the note. He looked at her questioning eyes, and said, "Yes, its time, actually I kinda forgot about it." She hugged him.

"She understands, a lots happened to you. How about you go up to your room and read it now." He excused himself and left Jubilee to explain what was happening. Bobby commented on how surprised Zav's mom must have been to see Zav as a Gargoyle.

"… and a naked one at that." Everyone sniggered. "But how dashing, Scott can we change our uniforms for red and white checks?" Jubilee winked at him knowing he was distracting the 'We're there for you' people who would have followed Zav to his room.

"No, red didn't work for the British and it won't work for the X-Men." Scott said firmly. The room went dead silent so suddenly that everyone heard Logan whisper,

"Oneeye made a funny?" And they all started laughing till they were in tears. That was when the doorbell rang and Bobby went to answer it. Suddenly Charles closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Bobby don't shout." He muttered. "X-Men, Zaviea's aunt Olivia is at the door." Warren, Beast and Spylock (Who was in uniform) went quickly into the kitchen before Bobby brought Olivia into the living room, and offered her a seat. She chose the chair Hank had just left and once seated asked,

"You have a dog?" She held up a few loose hairs. Bobby choked on his soda and Scott answered as he whacked Bobby on the back.

"Um… yes." A muffled 'I resent that remark!' came from the kitchen. There was a thumping from the kitchen, everyone looked at the door, till Olivia said,

"Its blue." Scott shrugged.

"Bobby dyed him for Easter, it was a big improvement really." There were the sounds of thrashing and a muffled 'Ooof' as if someone had just been sat on. Olivia looked over at Bobby and smiled at him, he had sudden flashes of nastier Emma Frost in twenty years and he gulped. More thumping from the kitchen, thankfully, broke the connection.

"What in the world is that?" Olivia asked. Suddenly the scuffling sounds stopped and a dog's excited barking was heard. 

"Oh come on, Warren you sound like a Poodle." Spylock's voice reached them. "Put some power behind it." 

"Sorry I'm using all my 'power' right now to hold down the 'Dog'." Came the breathless reply. Jean took over hitting Bobby's back for Scott, as Xavier rolled forward. 

"How can we help you?" He asked coolly.

"There is a week before Zaviea starts classes here I want him to come home so we can settle this misunderstanding between us." Charles took a deep breath.

"Zaviea doesn't wish to see you, he was extremely traumatized by what happened and I believe he needs more time to recover." 

********

Meanwhile in Zaviea's Room:

He sat for a moment on his bed, just looking at the envelope; this was the last thing he'd ever receive from his mother. He picked it up and opened it suddenly eager to read it. The sight of her scrawling writing brought tears to his eyes, she hadn't typed it, she taken the time to write it out and make it more personal.

Beloved Son,

I guess that if your reading this I'm no longer hear, or I broke down and finally just gave it to you J, anyway this is something I've been keeping from you fro too long and I hope you can forgive me….

The letter went on to tell him a story about how two people grew up together, fell in love and then lost each other.

… I went to visit him in the hospital and I was going to let him know that he could count on me to help him through everything, but he was angry at the world and he drove me away. It was only later, much later I realised I was carrying you and I was bitter and I wanted to hurt him too so I never told him, I married an old school friend and told everyone he was your father. Please forgive mw Zaviea, I was foolish I deigned you your fathers love all these years, and I know he'd love you. Zaviea your father's name is….

Zaviea gasped, 'No way, oh my gosh!' Suddenly he heard shouting from down stairs. Was that his aunt's voice? He went to the door and listened. 'Yup that's her.'

"I am his legal guardian, I've decided that I want him to spend the week with me and he will. There is nothing you can say about it the law is on my side, I've figured it all out Mr. Xavier," Scott cleared his through.

"It's Professor Xavier." She shot him a killing look.

"Stay out of this ray bans!" she snarled at him then turned back to Charles. "You are the will's executor, you sent that green monster thing to get him that is why he is here, well you just listen from now on I'll be deciding what is good for that boy." She shrilled. Zaviea picked up his letter and rushed down the stairs two at a time. "I am his only living relative." He entered the room, "and being his only blood relative means he is mine."

"Actually your not, my only blood relative and I'm not yours." He was smiling, "There is someone who has more rights to me then you." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"And just who would that be?" She asked coldly. He smiled at her.

"My father." Jubilee rushed to his side and he pointed to a part of his letter to her.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this is way too cool. Oh my gosh." As Jubilee stood beside him, hugging him and giggling his aunt said lowly.

"Your Father, you don't have one, he died when you were four." Zaviea shook his head.

"That was my stepfather, I'm talking about my biological, blood related, father." Jubilee was laughing now chanting 'tell her, tell her, tell her.' "And you see now that I know my father's name he automatically becomes my legal guardian." Olivia sniffed.

"That is IF you can ever find him." She pointed out. Zav sniggered.

"Shouldn't be too hard, they 'grew up together and were good friends'." Jubilee snorted and had to hold onto Zaviea. "But its only after reading her letter that I learned how good their friendship really was." Jean's mouth fell open and from the look on her face you could tell she'd figured it out and was telling Scott. 

"Yes, 'very' good friends." He muttered. Xavier sat there clue less, so Zav handed him his mother's letter, and he began to read it. In a moment he folded it gently and held it to his chest as he looked at Zaviea. Zav saw the look of joy and pride on Xavier's face and he nodded towards his aunt.

"I would like you to leave now Mrs. Valentine- Smith, I don't want you to ever come back an you will leave MY son alone." He wheeled forward. "You should seek counselling for you obsessions with money and younger men." Olivia gasped, spun on her heal and was never seen again. "Zaviea… I." Zav knelt down next to Xavier and put his arms around his father as Charles held him.

"You and the X-Men saved me… dad, and everything is fine now we're all together." Jubilee, who'd been fanning a passed out Bobby, jumped up.

"I think this calls for a party, woo hoo, come on Wolvie we need to go get ice cream." Logan sighed nodded. "Hey you're the one who finished it."

"Yes, I'll tell Warren, Spylock and the 'dog' what's happened." Scott told everyone as he left the living room. This left only Jean, Xavier and Zaviea. Jean was walking to the door, when she heard a soft plinking sound and turned to see Xavier holding his crying son, as the tears fell they hit the floor and shimmered. 

 "Those stones. That's what they are… they're your tears. You cry crystal tears." Jean said amazed. Zaviea shrugged.

"Yes, but these ones are shed in happiness." And he held his father tighter.


End file.
